Stranger
by Nature9000
Summary: For many years Tori has devoted all her time and energy to becoming a superstar, sacrificing anything and everything to become a celebrity like so many in Hollywood. When she finally gets a chance, will it be everything she ever wanted, or will that fame come at a heavy price? What must be sacrificed for her dream to come true?


Stranger

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N: This oneshot was inspired by a mixture of Hilary Duff's songs, _Stranger_ and _Dignity_.

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-STRANGER IN OUR LIFE-

Tori awoke with a start, her alarm was chirping and had been for some time. She turned her eyes towards it and grimaced at the time, she was late for an audition. Tori jumped out of the bed and grabbed her clothes off the bed. "Can't be late, can't be late. This could be my big chance!" She threw them on and ran a brush through her hair, gazing into the mirror in front of her.

After some time of brushing, she saw an odd look in her reflection. Her finger scraped against a line on the corner of her eyes and she scoffed, "Crow's feet? Not possible." Her heart was racing and her blood was heating.

Running down the steps, she caught her family at the table. "Tori," David waved her over with a smile. "Come sit down, have some breakfast." She was a bit taken aback since this was the first time in years that she'd seen her entire family eating together. She hesitated, keeping her deadline in the back of her mind. "Your mom and I've got some important news. As does your sister."

"Well…" She felt a sharp pain as her stomach twisted. There really wasn't time to sit down and eat, so as much as she hated to turn them down she had to. "I'm sure it's not that big with Trina." Trina's eyebrow rose and David's lips parted while Holly leaned over her folded hands. "If you and mom have some important news, can it wait until later? I have an audition I'm going to be late for."

"You'll have plenty other auditions," Trina stabbed a piece of sausage with her fork and lifted it up to her lips. "You'll want to hear what we're saying."

"You guys will be here later. This audition is important." She didn't mean to downgrade whatever news her family had, but knowing them it couldn't be that impacting. "You remember Beck's big acting opportunity? This could be my big chance."

Holly perched her cheek on her hands and smiled slightly at her. "Is he an actor yet?" Not yet, but that was still a very good chance he had, though it was a few years ago. "Last I heard he was still looking for a job."

"Tori have a seat," David instructed while motioning his hand to the empty chair.

"You'll be here when I'm back, right? Tell me then. Love you guys!" She pulled her purse strap further on her shoulder and rushed to the door. She truly wanted to know what news they had, so it was difficult to just leave as quickly as she was, but they didn't understand how important this was to her.

"Victoria Vega, get back here this instance."

"Later, please." She rolled her eyes and looked back at them. "You don't understand how important this audition is."

"We don't?" His eyebrows rose and he set his palms on the surface of the table, pushing himself up. "More important than what your family has to say?"

"Sorry, Dad. I just-I'm late!" Holly put her hand to David's forearm and shook her head. This happened every time she had a big audition or a song to perform, they were used to it by now.

After the audition, Jade and the others pulled her to the side so they could have lunch. "Did you make the cut?"

Tori shook her head and frowned at the sandwich in front of her. Her heart had sunk and her fists were closed around the utensils. "I just have to be better next time. I'm singing for some big time producer tomorrow. I'm nervous as hell and my family's gone to crap again."

"You need to relax," Andre rubbed her back and Tori exhaled slowly. "What's going on with them this time?" She rubbed her neck and cracked her neck to the right.

"They're just being their typical selves. You know, annoying and pushy. Of all things they were eating together this morning." She dropped her hands to the side and furrowed her brow. "That hasn't happened since before mom started cheating on dad with that one guy! Of course, with Trina being so annoying and self-centered, and Dad focusing wholly on his job, it's been hard to even be in the same room at the same time."

"Well you do make them sound pretty insane," Cat replied quietly. "Who knows if they are half as bad as you make them out to be." Tori rolled her eyes and laughed with disbelief. It was easy for Cat to say something like that when she didn't live with them.

"Trust me cat, they're not a typical family by any means."

"Who can honestly say they have a 'typical' family?"

"I'm not in the mood." She rubbed her hand across her forehead, moaning once as it throbbed beneath her fingers. "They had something they wanted to tell me this morning, but I hurried off. I was late for the audition."

"You made it on time," Beck reminded her, "You had like half an hour."

"Well it was important." She took a bite of her sandwich and closed her eyes. Tomorrow's performance was going to be early so she would have to go to bed once she got home. "Tomorrow's song is important too. You know who's going to be there? Hilary Duff, she's become a record producer now."

Andre laughed as the others nodded, "She's got some good songs. Of course, older Disney people tend to be better than the newer crap." He crossed his arms and leaned back slightly. "I liked her in Lizzie McGuire though-I'll admit."

"What are you singing?" Robbie asked. Tori shrugged. She was thinking of one of the star's own songs, but that had a tendency to backfire especially since the icon would be most critical of someone singing their own work.

"Probably Dignity or Stranger, both of those are really good." She just couldn't get in the emotion of either song for some reason. Hopefully tomorrow she'd be able to hit it just fine. "So what are we going to do after this? You want to go to Geo's for dinner?"

"That place is pretty expensive. Can you afford it?"

"Sure! I'll just put it on dad's credit card. He always pays it off." She never had an issue with it because David always said to put something on the card. Rarely she did so without asking first, but there were some occasions where it was fine. "I need to unwind before tomorrow's performance."

That night when she got back home, her family was waiting for her around the dinner table. They were halfway through their meal, with a large roast chicken between them. Trina turned her gaze up and smiled at Tori. "Thought you would be home for dinner, we waited on you for a while."

"Evidently not," Tori crossed her arms and studied the chicken. "Though when do you wait for me, Trina?" Trina's mouth opened then closed tight, her lips pulled back into a frown and her eyes filled with a look of disappointment and disapproval.

Holly set her silverware down on her plate and spoke with a frighteningly calm tone in her voice. "Your father checked his credit card tonight, Trina. You went to the most expensive restaurant in town." She froze as her mother's eyelids shot open and her glare burned into her. "Care to explain why you didn't call ahead, dear?"

"Sorry, I was with my friends."

"Oh them again!" Trina laughed. "You owe me ten bucks, dad!" The girl reached over, smacking David's arm lightly. Tori's heart sank and she scowled at Trina, how could they possibly bet on whether or not she was with her friends. How self-absorbed did they have to be? They've had friends in their lifetime, surely, they would understand how important friends were. "She's always with them. They're the ones that lied to you, remember? Called you an idiot behind your back."

"I remember," David's voice was deep and his eyes grew narrow. "Came to me asking if I was an alcoholic a few weeks back. Why was that, Tori?"

"I-don't know…" She moved her hand over her mouth and winced. She'd told her friends how David had gone to a bar while on duty, but the truth was he was responding to a dispute. She may have left the last part out.

"You like to embellish us to your friends. Just make sure that little life of stardom you're seeking doesn't go to your head." He cleared his throat and moved a piece of chicken up to his mouth. "Try to remember you will generally always have family around, lest you push us out."

"Push out? Yeah, like that will ever happen." Her family was never going anywhere. They'd be living in this dump all their lives. David cracked his jaw and Trina's head bowed. "Come on, I have to at least be in my friends' lives, they're important to me too. You guys will _always_ be around."

"Maybe so. Your friends won't."

"That's just it. Let me enjoy them while I have a chance. Besides, if I'm close to them, then they'll always be around too. Best of both worlds."

"So you don't want to leave your friends at all, I suppose?" Holly looked over at her with a fake smile and lifted her eyebrows. "Let's move on from the subject of your friends. You still need to hear what we had to tell you before."

"It's going to have to wait, Mom."

"Tori…"

"Sorry, it's just. I'm singing for Hilary Duff tomorrow, she's a recording artist now. You guys should come to the performance!" She studied their blank expressions and rolled her tongue into her cheek, sighing heavily. "It's going to be great, she contacted me personally to see if I might be any good. I have to sleep so I can wake up early enough."

"There are some things that are more important-"

"Are you kidding, mom? This is my true chance! Once I get settled we can start making money and we'll all be well off." Holly simply chewed on a bite of chicken, staring down at her plate while David and Trina continued to gawk at her. "I mean, Trina might have to find something else, but I'll definitely be able to take care of you and dad."

Trina's jaw fell and her hand moved up to her chest. David looked over to his eldest daughter and exchanged an upset look with her. Holly's gaze rolled over to her and she gently set her silverware on the table. "Maybe you should just go to bed dear." Tori looked at her mom with concern and took a step forward, but froze when Holly's arm snapped to the stairs. "Now. We will tell you what we have to say tomorrow."

"Okay. I have a headache anyway…"

She started for the stairs and set her hand on the railing. Halfway up her father's deep voice startled her. "Victoria. Remove your credit card from your purse and set it down on the step you're on. Do it now, and without question." She frowned and did as he asked, knowing the angry tone in his voice was not to be taken lightly.

The next morning she rushed back down the stairs and stopped at the very bottom when she heard her family arguing in the living room. "She has made her decision Trina," David remarked bitterly. "You can continue to defend her as long as you like, but even you have to realize when-"

"What's going on?" Tori rounded the stairway and her family turned their heads over the couch they were all seated on. Tori crossed her arms and looked to her father. "Daddy, when do I get my card back?"

"You don't, 'princess'." Her jaw dropped and her arms fell to the sides.

"What? How can you do that to me?"

"Simple. I am your father." She scoffed at him and walked for the door, not wanting to involve herself with an argument. "You will stop right there. We have little time left to tell you what's going on."

"I don't want to talk right now." Tori pushed open the door and shook her head. This was just another mark in her book for her friends to hear about, they were always there for her when stressed. "You take away my card, I'm not talking-"

"That is not your money on the card! Your mother didn't raise you to be this way."

"My mother also didn't raise me to screw everything in sight but that didn't stop her did it?" She blurted it out without thinking, and the minute it left her lips she regretted it. The air in the house grew silent as her family stared in shock and disbelief. Holly's hand was on her chest and David was looking at his wife with a frown.

Trina's lips pressed tight together and her angry eyes scorched Tori like a branding iron. "Enjoy your performance, Tori," Trina scowled. After several painstaking seconds of tension, Trina spoke up again. "I truly hope you get recognized as a singer and become famous. Maybe your friends will be proud of you. Who the hell you are, I don't know, but maybe they know you better than we do."

"I'm your sister, obviously…"

"No. I don't know what we did to you-and I've been trying for years defending you to everyone, but I'm sick of it." Trina put her hands to her chest and chuckled darkly. "You? Did we ever do anything cruel, did we ever make you wonder who on earth is sleeping in our house? You make yourself perfect to everyone, and we're left picking up the pieces-being blamed for whatever comes out of your mouth."

"Don't you think that's a little overdramatic?" She let out a nervous laugh, feeling a strong urge telling her to flee.

"Get the hell out," Holly looked away in a fit of shame. "We'll talk to you when you get home. Just-do your best at that performance."

"Thanks mom…I promise you I'll '"

Did I ever do anything that was this cruel to you?  
Did I ever make you wonder who was standing in the room?  
You made yourself look perfect in every way,  
So when this goes down, I'm the one that will be blamed.  
Your plan is working so you can just walk away,  
Baby your secret's safe.

There's no kindness in your eyes,  
The way you look at me, it's just not right.  
I can tell whats going on this time,  
Theres a stranger in my life.  
You're not the person that I once knew.  
Are you scared to let them know it's you?  
If they could only see you like I do,  
Then they would see a stranger too..

Tori met up with Hilary Duff after having sung the songs, she had a rush of adrenaline coursing through her. "So?" She bounced in her steps as her eyes met the celebrity. "What did you think?"

Hilary rubbed her chin and looked around. "Where's your family at? I've never had someone in your shoes come up to me without their family there to support them." Tori looked over her shoulder and smiled at her friends sitting at a table a few paces away.

"My friends are over there, they're here supporting me. My family's at home, they're just…being their usual selves, nothing to worry about." Hilary leaned her head back and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh just my annoying and overdramatic sister and parents, they'd probably embarrass me if they were here."

There was a long and silent pause before the celebrity turned her gaze to the stage and shook her head. "You chose two of my songs. Dignity, and Stranger. Do you know what those songs are about?" Hilary moved her hands to her waist and raised an eyebrow at her.

"They're just a couple of my favorite songs."

"I…see."

"Did I sing them well?"

The woman closed her eyes and shrugged. "You did." Her heart shot up and she nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement. As she looked towards her friends, they all put on smiles of their own. "But, unfortunately you're not what I'm looking for."

"Wha-" Tori had to do a double take. In an instant her entire world collapsed around her. She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and frowned at the icon. "What do you mean?" She stammered over her words, still puzzled by this woman's sudden change.

"I think you should think a little bit about what my songs are about, try to reach the emotional aspect of them. I'm looking for someone a little more…dignified than you."

"I don't understand."

"Maybe you will if you think about what you just told a complete stranger about how you value your family?"

"I value them just fine…"

"Okay. But you're just not what I'm looking for." The woman walked away and Tori slouched. She made her way to her friends' table and buried her hand into her hands.

They rubbed her shoulders, each telling her not to let it get her down. "Hey I got something for you," Andre stated, "An opportunity to get your name in the light." Tori lifted her head, sniffing as her nose began to run.

"What?"

"Well this guy gave me a chance to play on part of their band for a while. You could come along, they need a backup singer. It's not much but it's a start." She began to smile, grateful for this opportunity.

"What is it? How long? When would we leave?" Even as a backup, she had plenty of chance to get recognized. Andre winced and looked towards the others. From the looks in their eyes, Tori could see the news wasn't the best.

"Well, they go on tour today, and I suspect it would be about a month or two. Not long, but just enough."

"T-Today?" She moved her hand up to her chest and let her mind drift towards her family. She remembered their angered expressions and how bitter they'd been sounding lately. The more Tori thought on their actions, the more she was apt to run off with this band Andre was talking about. "As a backup, people might still give me a chance…"

"Yeah. It's a start, but you'll probably want to get your family's approval."

She scoffed at the thought and whisked her hand through the air, causing her friends to jerk back. Their bewildered gazes fell on her and they each exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Why should you be surprised? My family's been nothing but a bunch of asses these last few days…I'll take this opportunity, they don't understand how great of an opportunity it is for me! I'll tell them, don't worry."

"When will you tell them?" Robbie asked. Tori rolled her head to the side and looked at Andre.

"When does this band leave?"

Andre pressed his lips together and glanced at his watch. "About five hours from now. But Vega, I can't stress how important it probably is for you to ask your family if it's okay. The band's okay with it because they approved when I asked them if I could bring someone along, but-"

"My family will always be here when I'm back. I think we just need some time apart, that's all."

"O-Okay…"

As the months passed along, Tori could never get the songs she sang for Hilary Duff out of her head. The song _Stranger_ kept coming to her mind every time she looked into the mirror on the tour bus, and she would begin to sing it.

Her family never called back or texted back after she left. She did tell them in a text that she was going on a tour bus, and explained how she felt they should all take some time apart from each other. The tour lasted longer than she thought it would, but she was relieved now that they were on their way back to Los Angeles.

She had an opportunity to stay on or to go back home and be with her family, and she desperately wanted to see them first before making that decision. The band was giving her a chance.

In her heart, she wanted to stay with them. Her hair was a mess, her makeup was always smudged, and the members of the band had gotten a little too deep in drugs. Even Andre was a mess now.

To make matters worse, she'd gotten pregnant and lost the baby all in the same month. It was hard, a harder life than she'd ever anticipated, and she wanted-no-she _needed_ her family.

"I'll call you when I know what my decision is," Tori said to Andre. She mustered a fake smile as the boy continued to move his hands along the piano keyboard. He mumbled something and lifted his shoulders. "I'll say hi to Beck and Jade too, maybe Cat and Robbie."

As a matter of fact, neither Andre or Tori had heard from their friends for some time. She couldn't wait to get back and see everyone. Andre was certain about staying with the band, so she wasn't going to try and sway him otherwise.

The first stop was the school, because Sikowitz would at least know where her friends were. Their phone numbers didn't work any longer, for whatever reason, and their families didn't seem to have much to say.

When she entered the classroom, Mr. Sikowitz was in the middle of teaching a new batch of students. None of whom Tori could recognize. The man raised an eyebrow at her and put his hands behind his waist. "Victoria Vega, it has been some time. I am in the middle of class."

"I'm looking for my friends." She swept her fingers through her dried out hair and heaved forth a heavy sigh. "I was wondering if you knew what happened to them."

"It's been nearly a year, Miss Vega."

Her heart stopped and she leaned her head back. "Has it been that long? Really?"

"Yes. Beck and Jade have gone off to some acting college in North Carolina. Robbie's working as an assistant with Jeff Dunham-and I do not know what Cat is doing now."

"Oh…" She was disheartened by this news. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she fumbled her fingers together at her waist. "I always thought…we'd still be around." Sikowitz raised an eyebrow and turned his head to the side.

"People move on, Miss Vega. Friends do not stay friends forever."

"Well, at least my family's around then."

"I could tell you of your sister, I do know where she is at."

"Has she moved as well? Why would you know anything about her after all this time?"

Sikowitz chuckled and turned back to his class. "I said I 'could', why don't you come back after I am done with class." Tori sighed and left with reluctance. This conversation wasn't going anywhere, so she didn't need to mess with it any further.

Likely the man was trying to be funny. Her family would all be home waiting for her, and Trina would be there too. "It's not like Trina would have just gotten a job, she's not work material…right?"

Once at her house, she walked slowly along the sidewalk, frowning at the yard. There was a new play swing tied to the tree, and the front door had a sign that said 'The dog inside is in charge'.

"When did they get a dog?" She reached up and hit the doorbell, scrunching her face when she heard a new musical chime. Inside she heard the sounds of a dog barking and a baby crying. She thought of both her mom and her sister, wondering which one of them had a child.

After some time the door opened and a small six year old girl opened the door. Tori looked down with wide eyes and pursed her lips as the blonde haired child cocked her head. "I don't know you," the girl said, "Mommy and daddy always say it's bad to talk to strangers."

"Oh it's okay," responded a mature woman's voice. The door opened wider and a woman with short red hair smiled at her. She was holding a small baby in her hands. Tori started to whimper but stifled her urge to cry. "Can I help you, miss?"

"I-I don't know. This is my house…"

The woman frowned and slowly shook her head. "I don't think so. The family that was here before had one daughter that moved away with them. We've been here for almost a year now. Did you go into law enforcement?"

"N-No…"

"Oh. Because that family's daughter did." Tori's heart stopped and her hand moved up to her mouth. "I don't know where they went, but I think I remember them saying she got offered an opportunity as an apprentice as a CSI somewhere."

"They-They never said where?"

"No. Sorry. Is there anything else I can help with?"

The girl looked up at her mom and tugged on her shirt. "She's a stranger, mommy. We shouldn't talk to strangers." The mother laughed nervously and looked apologetically at Tori.

"N-No it's okay." Tori stepped back off the porch and turned away. The door closed behind her. A brown sedan pulled up alongside the curb and Tori's heart dropped. "Mr. Sikowitz?"

The man stepped out of his car and looked at her with a forlorn expression. "They're gone, I see you realize that now." Tori walked over to him, struggling to hold back her tears. "They said you wouldn't be back. Trina is dating my nephew now. He's in the military, and she's working as a Crime Scene Investigator in another state-they were trying to tell you about the opportunity. I believe your parents renewed their vows a few months ago."

His words struck her like a punch to the gut. These two things were extremely important, so why hadn't they told her?

Tori scrunched her face and struggled to think back to any possibility of why they wouldn't have told her something so pivotal. The memory was somewhat faded now, but she could recall the weeks before she left. They did want to tell her something, but she was always blowing them off for her friends or her own career opportunities.

Both of which now had gone down the drain.

"D-Do you know where they are now, Mr. Sikowitz?"

"I do. Obviously." He crossed his arms and frowned at her. "But out of respect to honor their wishes, they've asked me not to divulge that information if I ever saw you again."

"Why?"

"When you left-you essentially disowned them, Tori. You made the decision on who was most important in your life." He walked back around to the driver's side of the car and slowly shook his head. "You treated them like strangers, so to them, that is what you are."

"But I-I was stupid. They should give me another chance?"

"Why?" He looked back to her and shrugged. "You're working with a band now, right?"

"Yeah but they've given me a choice on whether I want to stay with them or leave the band…"

"Choice is yours, but the way I see it, you probably don't want to cause your family anymore trouble. After all, you are just a stranger."

He entered his car and rolled up the windows. Tori winced in pain when she saw her reflection in the window. Just as the reflection many months ago, but only a flicker then. Now the emptiness in her eyes was more prevalent.

It was the image of a person she once was so long ago, the girl that loved her family. She still did, but her desire for success and power got in the way. No longer did she recognize the person that was staring back at her with those large and empty eyes.

There was nothing she could do now, she truly had chosen her life, but never did she think about the cost that came with the choice of fame. Even now, she could never think of who the relatives were to famous celebrities like Brad Pitt or even singers like Shakira.

They were nobody, they were forgotten.

They were strangers to people and the celebrities, and the celebs were strangers to them. Perhaps this was what Hilary Duff meant so long ago.

As the car revved up and drove off, Tori watched her reflection in the rear windshield. Slowly it faded away, finally disappearing once his car drove over the hill.

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There it is, the oneshot, I hope you enjoyed it.


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